Tag Archives | essex linen

Meet Spools, my new quilt pattern and tribute to an iconic sewing essential.

Spools is very literally a celebration of sewing, with all kinds of color, fabric and print possibilities.

Fabric and Color

In terms of fabric, there are many ways you can get creative with this project. It works easily with 5″ squares. If you’re scared of putting together color on your own, take advantage of a beautiful pack that’s already been arranged for you. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, cull together your own mix. This is definitely one of those projects where you can pack a lot of variety into a single project, a.k.a. one of my favorite types of projects. Is there anything better than sewing through a gorgeous stack of color?

In my quilt, I worked from both of the newest charm packs for Collection CF. After opening them up, I commingled them into a pleasing array. Spools feature a Main fabric and an Accent fabric, and if you’re working from 5″ squares, each one will yield 1 spool Main or 2 spool Accents. The picture below shows how I mapped mine out. (Of course, I forgot to snap a picture until midway through my second row, but hopefully you get the idea.)

In the photo above, each row of squares represents a row of Spools, with the Main squares sticking out the top and the Accent squares folded in half and laying across the bottom. I might have swapped a couple out by the end, but this was a helpful way for me to figure out a game plan for moving forward.

Piecing

The blocks themselves are all conventionally pieced with 1/4″ seams. You have 1 diagonal seam to sew and the rest is literally straight forward. Plus I have some bonus cutting techniques so that diagonal piece lines up easily for you. Sound good?

The Spools sew up fairly quickly, and I love seeing the fabric combinations come together.

Picking a Background

After deciding on your Spool fabrics, the other major consideration is your background. It plays a prominent role in the quilt and will help show off your Spool fabrics. On mine I used Essex Yarn Dyed Homespun in Delft. I LOVE this fabric and color. After auditioning many different options, I liked how this one made everything pop. Before starting anything, I pulled several possibilities and kept them nearby. Once the spools were partially sewn, I laid them right on top of the background to decide if it would be the one. Yep, this one will do!

What is nice about using Essex (a linen/cotton blend) is the texture and visual contrast it adds when used alongside quilting cotton. I also love how the linen blends together at the seams while also giving the project good weight and structure.

Size

The pattern features 2 size options; Wall and Mini. The Wall size is what I have here. It is 40″ x 42″ and features 49 spools. The Mini size is 19 1/2″ x 20″ and features 9 spools. Of course you can always change the size by using more or less blocks, but I thought these 2 sizes were especially useful whether you want something colorful for your own space or you are swapping minis with a friend.

Now that my Instead fabric collection is shipping to stores, I thought I’d take a little time to share more with you about my Arlo quilt pattern. This project was hard to keep under wraps at the time, because I was so delighted at each stage to see it come together.

I’d been wanting to play around with the classic hexagon for awhile, and this project is the result of that.

I always say this, but it’s so true–my favorite patterns are the ones where you can do a million things with them. Rather than having a design that only works in a few ways, I love it when a design lends itself to changes in fabric, color, block orientation, and/or the quilting. It’s always amazing and exciting to me when you can totally change up the look, although this gets me into trouble because I end up making multiple versions of many of my projects. I can’t help it!

Arlo is definitely a design that can take on some different looks. In this first version, I used all of my newest Instead fabrics and the coordinating solids. The coordinating solids are a super-textured mix of Essex linen, yarn-dyed linen and even a metallic linen. I thought this rich mix of texture compliments the dark palette of the collection in a really good way.

The pattern works well with fat quarters, which is what I used here. First, I organized my stack of fabrics in to a pleasing order. I knew I wanted some color organization to this project, and to start it off with some clarity would help me achieve those results. Then I cut the shapes from each of the fabrics and stacked them up. (PS, I discovered that this shoe bin from Target holds the cut shapes nicely!)

After everything was cut, I started sewing the shapes together by pulling from the stack. Again, I knew that working this way would help me achieve some of the color order that I wanted. I also knew that once I had my hexagons sewn together it would be easy at that stage to nail down the layout.

The layout was SO much fun! (Does anyone else look forward to laying out the blocks for the first time? I think it’s such a treat.) I used all of the different block options but oriented them to slant in a similar way across the quilt. I think that the repetition of the colors through different shapes plays in an interesting way across the quilt.

After getting a layout that worked for me, I finished sewing the top together, and then I used big stitch hand quilting to finish it off. I like how the texture of the quilting threads and of the hand quilting give it a really nice feel.

I like seeing the colors of the threads pop, and I like the contrast in the fabrics. The printed pieces from the collection next to the textured linens keep it interesting. I always think about how the quilt will lay on your lap, and this one especially gives you many different things to notice and see each time you settle in with it.

This pattern can be sewn together in several ways depending on your preference. For this one, I chose to machine piece the top and then to hand quilt it. You could also hand piece the blocks OR English paper piece (EPP) them as well. Instructions for each option are outlined in the pattern, and there’s a printable EPP page so you can work from your preferred template papers.

All templates for the blocks are included in the pattern, but I also have 2 acrylic template sets to offer as well. One set includes a 1/4″ seam allowance and the other set includes a 3/8″ seam allowance. Choose your preference based on what you’re most comfortable with. Since I was machine sewing mine, I used the 1/4″ seam allowance, but maybe you like hand piecing and you’re comfortable with 3/8″–you can use that too.

Each template is made from sturdy acrylic and features printed lines and drilled holes so you can cut and mark from them at the same time. (Stay tuned for another post that I have planned on how I like to use the templates.)

There we have it–my new Arlo Quilt pattern.

I’ve mentioned the possibility of doing an Arlo Quilt Along, but I’m curious–what do you think? I was hoping I’d be able to squeeze it in this August/September, but I’m going to have to push it back a little farther. Would you be game? What would you like to see during this quilt along? Leave any feedback in a comment below or in an email to me – info(at)carolynfriedlander(dot)com. I always appreciate hearing from you!

I have two questions for you. (1) How has it already been 1 month, and (2) how are things going with you and your project?

For me, this month developed in ways I didn’t totally anticipate. I’d made a plan, but when putting it into action, I realized I wanted to make a few adjustments, which is fine. Instead of working in strict groups of 4 blocks, I decided that I wanted to get a better idea for the fabrics for all of the blocks at the onset, so I’ve spent most of my time refining my color and fabric plan.

My dream all along has been to make a green and white project, and it wasn’t until I was driving around town that I noticed what I was going for was right in front of me. This isn’t a great picture, in fact it’s a grab from google…but this building was my aha moment.

And then I really started to notice things.

After seeing the color schemes in real life, I decided it would be fun and helpful to create a moodboard on Pinterest for this project. I don’t always do this, actually I never do this, but it seemed like a helpful way to go and a fun thing to indulge myself in. You can see my full moodboard here.

I’m really excited to keep going with this. I feel like getting the color and mood right can be tricky, but once you get it, it’s smooth and exciting sailing. I’ve pulled and cut fabrics for many of my blocks, but I’ll show these for now.

I know, there’s blue up there. I promise, I really am heading in the green direction, but once I looked at that fabric (from friedlander lawn), I just had to have it in there. I can’t wait to turn those pieces under and see how the fabric plays out.

Are you enjoying using the planner? Normally I’m terrible at remembering things, but since I’ve been noting stuff in my planner, my list of shareables is at the ready.

In watching/listening news, the Price Is Right documentary on Netflix was great, and Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us (also on Netflix) was a tough, but really compelling and well done. In terms of Podcasts, I’ve been listening to This Land, and the trailer to Man In The Window was a good enough tease that I’m ready for the new episodes when they start coming out.